Harp's General WIP Thread ((Finished IG! Next: TD))

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HARP-4277
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Harp's General WIP Thread ((Finished IG! Next: TD))

Post by HARP-4277 »

I keep talking about how I want to finish off my IG in time for troops and yet I never seem to get around to actually working on it . . . I'm hoping that if I post a WIP thread you guys will kick my butt every now and then and get me to finish this thing! For those of you wondering, "Wait . . . wasn't he working on a TI and mostly done with it"? Yes! I am/was! I have everything finished for my armored TI except I still need my bucket, which is currently at Targ's. So while Targ has it, I am working on a Gunner!

I was able to snag a Hard-Armor Gunner kit off of Mr. Fett who bought it and then realized he didn't have time to actually make it.

Bucket: The Bucket is a Tambo I believe he said and it came assembled, but the lower lip was not flush with the rest of the helmet and there was a nasty little gap that ran around the lip. It was also held together by hot glue, which I heard was possible to do but not recommended. I ended up ripping out the glue and re-aligning the lip with the front section of the helmet. It is now held in with bondo and has a nice, flush edge to it. I still need to attach the visor and the commbox.

Commbox: Everything here is pretty much done. It is primed and fits nicely onto the helmet. Only issue is that the two white greeblies that goes on top of the commbox wasn't in the kit, so I have to try and find those separately somewhere. I also want to try and get some LED's in this and make it light up at some point as well.

Armor: The back armor had a bad pull to it so there was some bubbling inside of the gear box section on the back that I have had to sand out and then fill in with bondo. Other than that it just needed to be primed and glossed. The front armor was in perfect condition, as was the shoulder straps. These two pictures show the bad pull section and the armor before I worked it.
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Gloves, Boots, Belt, Commpad, & Flightsuit/Crewsuit: These are already done since my first costume was a RP/IC.

DL-44 ESB: This little pain has been my longest project yet, mostly cause i'll do a little work and then set it aside for the next couple of months, do a little work, set it aside, more work, set it aside, over and over. It started as a airsoft mauser and I was gifted a Resin conversion kit from Targ. Sadly the kit was missing a pair of side greeblies (seems to happen a lot to me :whatthe: ) but I was able to find a pair from Ripcode (Thanks man!).

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Attaching the flash suppresor and Scope mount.

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Attaching the Scope to the finished mount.

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Scarped off all of the brand name and logo stuff as well as some 'wear and tear' scratches (totally did those on purpose! . . . *coughs* ). Also started to prime it only to discover that my primer didn't like the resin sections!

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Found a new primer that worked!

It was around this time that I realized i was missing a couple of parts. There was the missing button on the scope mount, as well as the two half-cylinders on the opposite side of the mount. After much looking I used a Phillips head screw, washer i found in a car, and some bondo to make the scope button, and then the two cylinders that Ripcode sent me. You can see the progress of those being added in down below. After that I applied a couple coats of glossy black and called it a day.
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All I have left to do for the DL-44 now is to apply a few more coats of the black, chrome/silver the flash suppressor, and then rough it up a little for the standard weathering. I also need to find/make a holster for it as well!

Up to date pics of most recent work on the armor set and DL-44:
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Last edited by HARP-4277 on Sat Mar 08, 2014 3:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
TIE Pilot ........................ Helmet: Being Modified
Sandtrooper .................. Helmet: Being Modified | Armor: Being Built | Boots: Acquired

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HARP-4277
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Location: El Paso, Texas

Re: Harp's General WIP Thread ((Currently an IG and DL-44 ES

Post by HARP-4277 »

A fast update on the status of my IG costume! I was able to get a decent amount of work done a week ago when we had a break in the cold and rainy weather!

Was able to get another coat of black on top of the chest, back, comm box, and helmet, as well as chrome the flash suppressor on the muzzle of the blaster. Was able to gloss the chest, shoulder straps, comm box, and blaster, but when I went to gloss the back armor it bubbled up. Tried to sand out the bubbles and re-gloss but it wouldn't have it. Sooo, need to strip the paint and primer off of the back plate and repaint it from scratch. :(

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I also noticed that the left side of the helmet jaw keeps separating. I've tried gluing and bondo'ing it and it keeps pulling apart every time. Think I may just end up going crazy on it and just loading it down with a mound of Bondo and accept the elbow-work that sanding it down will be.
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Other than the crack on the jawline the helmet is all good to go! She's been primed up nice and shiny and is just waiting her first coat of black.

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TIE Pilot ........................ Helmet: Being Modified
Sandtrooper .................. Helmet: Being Modified | Armor: Being Built | Boots: Acquired

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Re: Harp's General WIP Thread ((Currently an IG and DL-44 ES

Post by gazmosis »

Nice work so far!

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HARP-4277
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Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2013 9:50 am
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Re: Harp's General WIP Thread ((Currently an IG and TD))

Post by HARP-4277 »

I finally did it! I just submitted my Hard-Armor pics tonight for my Imperial Gunner costume! The back panel for the armor is still a lot rougher than I would like (it still needs a few more sandings and coats of paint), but it is good enough to qualify for submission and trooping I believe! :D

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So here's IG-42770 reporting for duty, looking forward to joining you on the turrets and cannons!
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TIE Pilot ........................ Helmet: Being Modified
Sandtrooper .................. Helmet: Being Modified | Armor: Being Built | Boots: Acquired

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